Wes Craven
Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven (born August 2, 1939– August 30, 2015) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor known for his work on horror films, particularly slasher films. He is the creator of the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise featuring the Freddy Krueger character, directed the first installment and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and also co-wrote A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors with Bruce Wagner. Craven also directed the entire ''Scream'' series featuring Ghostface. Some of his other films include The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left, The Serpent and the Rainbow, The People Under the Stairs, Vampire in Brooklyn, Cursed, Red Eye and My Soul to Take. Early life Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Caroline (née Miller) and Paul Craven. He was raised in a strict Baptist family. Craven earned an undergraduate degree in English and Psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois and a master's degree in Philosophy and Writing from Johns Hopkins University. Career before film industry Craven briefly taught English at Westminster College and was a humanities professor at Clarkson College of Technology (now Clarkson University) in Potsdam, New York. His first job in the film industry was as a sound editor for a post-production company in New York City. Directing and writing career Craven left the academic world for the more lucrative role of pornographic film director. In the documentary Inside Deep Throat, Craven says on camera he made "many hard core X-rated films" under pseudonyms. While his role in Deep Throat is undisclosed, most of his early known work involved writing, film editing or both. In 1972 Wes Craven directed his first feature film The Last House on the Left. Craven's works tend to share a common exploration of the nature of reality. A Nightmare on Elm Street, for example, dealt with the consequences of dreams in real life. New Nightmare "brushes against" (but does not quite break) the fourth wall by having actress Heather Langenkamp play herself as she is haunted by the villain of the film in which she once starred. At one point in the film, we see on Wes Craven's word processor a script he has written, which includes the exact conversation he just had with Heather — as if the script was being written as the action unfolded. The Serpent and the Rainbow portrays a man who cannot distinguish between nightmarish visions and reality. In Scream, the characters frequently reference horror films similar to their situations, and at one point Billy Loomis tells his girlfriend that life is just a big movie. This concept was emphasized in the sequels, as copycat stalkers reenact the events of a new film about the Woodsboro killings occurring in Scream. Scream included a scene mentioning the well-known Richard Gere urban legend. Craven stated in interviews that he received calls from agents telling him that if he left that scene in, he would never work again. Craven also frequently collaborates with Sean S. Cunningham. In Craven's debut feature, The Last House on the Left, Cunningham served as producer. Later, in Craven's most famous film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Cunningham directed one of the chase scenes, although uncredited. Their infamous characters, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, appeared together in the 2003 slasher film Freddy vs. Jason with Cunningham acting as producer. Later, in ''The Last House on the Left'' remake, both Cunningham and Craven share production credits. Although known for directing horror/thriller films, he has worked on two that were outside this genre: the 1999 film Music of the Heart, and as one of the 22 directors in the 2006 collaboration Paris, je t'aime. Recently Craven has created Coming of Rage, a graphic novel, with ''30 Days of Night'' comic book writer Steve Niles. The comic will be released by Liquid Comics in 2013 with a possible film adaption directed by Craven and produced by Live Free Or Die Hard producer Arnold Rifkin and Liquid Comics CEO Sharad Devarajan. Awards and nominations During his career, Wes Craven won nine cinematic awards and received three nominations. In 1977, he won the 'Prize of the International Critics' Jury' in the "Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival" for his film The Hills Have Eyes. In 1985, his horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street won the 'Critic's Award' at the "Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival". In 1992, the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film presented him the Pegasus Audience Award for the thriller The People Under the Stairs. His Fantasporto won the International Fantasy Film Award for Best Screenplay while the Best Film award went to his film Wes Craven's New Nightmare, the final A Nightmare on Elm Street film he directed. His Shocker was also nominated for Best Film in 1990. The Gérardmer Film Festival granted him the Grand Prize in 1997 for Scream. He was nominated for Best Director for Scream at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA, in 1997. In 2006, he was honored at Spike TV's Scream with the Mastermind Award (the tribute was presented to him by Neve Campbell). Other work Craven designed the Halloween 2008 logo for Google, and was the second celebrity personality to take over the YouTube homepage on Halloween. Craven had a letter published in the July 19, 1968 edition of ''Life'' magazine, praising that periodical's coverage of contemporary rock music, in particular Frank Zappa. Personal Life & Death Craven's first marriage to Bonnie Broecker produced two children, Jonathan Craven (born 1965) and Jessica Craven (born 1968). Jonathan is a writer and director with a few credits to his name. Jessica was a singer/songwriter in the group the Chapin Sisters. The marriage ended in 1970. In 1982, Craven married Millicent Eleanor Meyer. However, the two divorced. Craven has stated in interviews that the marriage dissolved after he discovered it "was no longer anything but a sham." In 2004, Craven married Iya Labunka. She frequently works as a producer on Craven's films. Craven is a birder. In 2010 he became a member of Audubon California's Board of Directors. His favorite films included Night of the Living Dead, The Virgin Spring and Red River. On August 30, 2015, Craven died of brain cancer at his home in Los Angeles. He was 76 years old. Books Filmography Highest-Grossing Films This is a list of the top 10 highest-grossing films by Wes Craven, each has made at least $30 million. References External links * * * * * Wes Craven interview * Category:1939 births Category:American male film actors Category:American film directors Category:American film producers Category:American male screenwriters Category:English-language film directors Category:Horror film directors Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio Category:Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Category:Birdwatchers